FREE Beth Moore Books today! Download while you can!

Beth Moore's book - The Beloved Disciple - that I referenced in "What I Want" is FREE for Kindle today! I was actually planning on doing a post about this book in the next day or two, but I wanted to let you know now so you can grab it while you can!!

Update: Actually a BUNCH of her books are free today or super cheap (like 99 cents)! Better just check out everything by clicking here, but be sure to download the free version of The Beloved Disciple if nothing else!

Available on Nook, too! http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/beloved-disciple-beth-moore/1005797093?ean=9780805427530

Wearing Pants and Drinking

Something I read over thirteen years ago that has always stayed with me comes from Lori Wick’s novel Sophie’s Heart. The character Brad believes that it’s wrong for women to wear pants and Sophie (for whom English is not her first language, btw) calls him on it. (Special thanks to my friend Laura for looking the following passages up for me so that I could quote them accurately!):

Brad: “You think I’m just following my own belief and not God’s.”

Sophie: “I am not accuse you of this, Brad. But I have read Scripture much, and I can be honest when I say I stand before God without shame when I wear pants or modest shorts. I am take for granted that you can back your belief with Scripture. If cannot, then is not from God.”

Later Brad asks Sophie:  “Are you sure I can’t change your mind about these things?

 

Sophie smiled. “Can I change yours?” She heard him sigh. “Please, Brad, do not lay sin at my door.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, is only thing I worry about—sin against God, not pleasing man, but God. You are look at all us women in pants and say we sin. You cannot make that choice for us.”

He was laying sin at her door.

This morning I read a review of an author’s contemporary Christian fiction novel in which the reviewer was upset because the main character had a beer. The reviewer said that this was a factor that she wouldn’t expect to see in a Christian book and stated in part that, “Christians are called to be holy as Jesus is holy.”

Let me make something perfectly clear: Jesus drank. Jesus drank alcohol. Jesus served other people wine and told them to drink. Jesus turned water into wine for a wedding party. (For those who disagree with any of this, I would urge you to read the article entitled Did Jesus Turn Water into Wine or Grape Juice?)

Let me make something else perfectly clear: if you don’t want to drink, that’s absolutely fine. I understand that some people cannot drink without sinning (because being drunk is clearly, clearly warned against multiple times in Scripture), and some people are simply afraid (or know) that if they allow themselves to have even one drink that they will inevitably get drunk. Furthermore, I fully understand that drinking too much leads to a multitude of problems – that’s why we are commanded not to get drunk!

But don’t say that we shouldn’t drink because we’re supposed to be like Jesus. Don’t lay sin at someone else’s door.

In Romans 14:12-22, Paul states: So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God. Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died. Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval. Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.

And yes, I am a big enough person here to go ahead and write the next verse:

So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God.

So then why don’t I keep what I believe between myself and God? By stating my beliefs, I’m bound to put a stumbling block in front of someone who is against any kind of drinking, so why don’t I just shut up?

Because I believe that it is even more important to remove a stumbling block from someone who doesn’t already know Christ. A teetotaler is likely to be somebody who already goes to church every Sunday and reads their Bible, prays and already loves the Lord.

But what about that person who wants to love the Lord, yet they’re certain they cannot be a Christian because they’ve been told it’s wrong if they have a glass of wine or a beer?

I’d rather remove that stumbling block.

 

 

 

My Views on Homosexuality

My Views On Homosexuality 

Why are you reading this post? Why in the world do you care what MY views on homosexuality are?

Paul states in his second letter to Timothy: For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. (2 Timothy 4:3)

Is that why you clicked on this post? Are you trying to gather around yourself a great number of teachers who will say what your itching ears want to hear? Are you hoping for an affirmation of what you already believe?

If you find out my views on homosexuality and discover that I feel the same way you do, you will likely nod your head approvingly and say “Right on, sister! Preach it!”

But if you discover that I feel differently from the way you do, you’re likely to shake your head in disgust and mutter that you’ll never buy another one of my books again.

Well here is a news flash for you: It doesn’t matter what I think.

I’m nobody.

I’m nothing.

And here’s another news flash: It doesn’t matter what you think, either.

Because, you see, all that matters is what GOD thinks.

We don’t get to decide what is right or wrong . . . God does.

Do you understand that if every single person on the face of this planet believed the same thing about homosexuality but God believed something different, then we would all still be wrong?

If you really want to know if homosexuality is right or wrong, don’t worry about what I believe. Or what your neighbor believes. Or your friends or your church or science. Don’t let somebody else do your thinking for you.

Worry about what God believes. 

Seek HIS will.

Read your Bible (and don’t just peruse it in an effort to justify what you want to believe, use it to try to learn what God believes). Really read it. Study it. Get to know it.

Get to know Him.

Be like Jesus.

You see, Jesus knew God intimately, and it is our job to get to know Him intimately as well. Jesus studied Scripture thoroughly. He knew not only every word of our Old Testament by heart, but He also knew what God’s intention was with each word.

Our job is to study the Old and the New Testaments and to try to understand God’s intentions the way Jesus did. To try to know God's will.

There. That’s what my views are.

OMG

I won’t let my daughter use the acronym OMG.

I know that it can mean “Oh, my gosh!” or “Oh, my goodness!” but just because she might mean it that way doesn’t mean that others will take it that way. I don’t even like to hear people say “Lord,” “Good, Lord,” or “Lordy,” because the word Lord is used about 8,000 times in the Bible and most of the time it is referring to God, (living in the South, I know many disagree with me on this point).

Although I’m used to saying things like “Holy cow!” I’ve been trying to not use the word “Holy” carelessly either. One of my favorite scenes in Alone occurs when Tanner picks Laci up for the prom:

“Holy crap, you look good,” I said, once she was standing before me.

“Tanner,” she chided. “Don’t say that!”

“I can’t say ‘Holy crap’ now either?”

She thought about it for a moment . . . honestly thought about it.

“You can say ‘crap’,” she finally decided. “Just not ‘holy’.”

“Why not?”

“You know,” she explained, shrugging her shoulders uncertainly. “Holy is  . . .”

She hesitated, obviously unsure how to word what she wanted to say.

“Well, it’s holy,” she finally said.

I looked at her for a moment in mild disbelief. Somehow, “Crap, you look good,” didn’t quite have the same ring to it.

Not taking the Lord’s name in vain was one of the ten things that God commanded: You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. Deuteronomy 5:11

He is holy . . . His name is holy. To fully revere God, I feel the need to fully revere His name as well. It's something that's very, very important to me.

And yet I’ve had my characters say “Oh, my God.”

Greg says it when they arrive at the landfill in Mexico, Samantha says it several times casually, and David says it when he talks to Laci after first seeing Kyle. I’ve been told by some that this is wrong . . . that it is wrong for a Christian writer to ever, ever have their characters say, “Oh, my God!”

In answer to that, I would say that in the instances of David and Greg, they were not taking God’s name in vain, but were so upset that they were calling out to Him (as Tanner realizes Laci is doing when she says the same thing over and over again in Alone). And Samantha and David discuss whether or not saying “Oh my God!” actually constitutes taking the Lord’s name in vain. One of the things I am happiest about is a review on Teen Lit Review (Real Reviews for the Christian Parent) of Chop, Chop which states in part: “I especially liked how the author explains that the exclamation “O_ M_G__,” used often as an accepted way of taking the Lord’s name in vain, is in fact wrong.”

In vain means useless . . . without purpose.

I had a purpose.

The Love Triangle

Yesterday someone anonymously commented on my "Killing David" post (I think the same person actually commented twice – if I’m wrong about that, forgive me). First of all, let me say that I LOVE talking about my books so I will never, ever be upset if someone tells me their thoughts – even if they don’t like something! You – as the reader – have the right to think whatever you want, like whatever you want, and dislike whatever you want!! If you are upset about something that happens in the books, that means that you are emotionally involved with the characters and – as an author – I count that as a success! If you post here, I am likely to comment back and let you know my opinions or tell you why I don’t agree with you or something like that. It is called having a conversation and is always done with a smile (at least on my end!). If someone posts something nasty or mean (I have had that happen in reviews), I will probably just delete your comment. But if you just want to have a good ol’ fashioned discussion about the books with me, let’s go!! I want to hear your opinions and I hope you want to hear mine!

So yesterday, this person (or possibly persons) stated that: “i couldn't warm up to tanner and Laci and although Tanner was a good guy and friend i couldn't get the image of him pinning after Laci throughout David and Laci's marriage. I would have rather Laci got together with a stranger than Tanner it almost felt as if it was betrayal to David and that he was never Laci's great love but rather an order from God.” In the other post it was worded slightly differently: “No doubt Tanner waa a good friend but i couldn'r remove the image of him pinning after Laci all those years when she was with David and i felt it belittled the sanctity of David and Laci's relationship and it made me also question Laci's commitnent to David.”

I would agree with you, overall. First of all, I would say that Laci and Tanner both had to constantly suppress their feelings toward one another throughout the years. They were attracted to one another and loved one another very much and the only reason they weren’t together is because Laci was being obedient to God and Tanner knew that if Laci wasn’t obedient to God that she wouldn’t be the woman he loved. I heard Lisa Whelchel (of Facts of Life and Survivor fame) on a radio broadcast years ago and she stated that God told her to that she was going to marry someone. She was not “on board” right away and did not have that chemistry and “those” feelings, but she was obedient and agreed to marry him. She said that those feelings did come and that she knew he was who she was supposed to be with (granted the two of them got divorced recently, but that was after many years and is a topic for a different blog).

Laci loved David, but she never felt that deep passion and chemistry that she did with Tanner. You can’t make yourself feel that for someone. But if you are feeling that for someone that you shouldn’t, you can ignore it. Like Lily reminds Marco in What I Want: You can’t stop birds from flying over your head, but that doesn’t mean you need to let them make nests in your hair. You can choose not to dwell on those thoughts. You can choose to not act on them. And that’s what Laci did and what Tanner did.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8

Love is a choice, and Laci chose to love David because she loved God. It’s the same thing Jordan did in Not Quickly Broken – he chose to love Charlotte even though he didn’t really feel like it. Marriage is about more than passion and chemistry. Marriage is about making the choice – every day – that you are going to love the person you are married to. When Laci was mad at David or worried about his fidelity to her, yes, she let herself think about Tanner, and yes, this was wrong. But Laci is human and she does wrong things. The only way I was able to let myself write from her point of view (in Remind Me) was to do it during a time in her life when she wasn’t all goody-two-shoes. My characters don’t always do right. They don’t always make the right choices.

Finally, I think that David always knew what Laci and Tanner had between them. It bothered him sometimes, but he was able to appreciate what God had given him and the sacrifice that both Laci and Tanner were making. He was able to be thankful for it instead of being upset about it (although he did waver there for a bit when he first found out about it). By the end, he knew that Tanner was going to be there for Laci. (I don’t think he knew he was going to die as early as he did and that Tanner and Laci were actually going to be able to get together) but he was okay with the fact that they loved each other because he knew they would never act on it inappropriately. He also knew how much they both loved him. As Laci said at the end of Alone, David loved both of them and would never want either of them to be alone.

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Dementia

Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. Isaiah 46:4

Many of the dementia-related scenes in Pon-Pon (Natalie’s father), and  Alone (David and Annabeth) come from personal experience. My father suffered from dementia.

Dad was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease around 1994. Before that, he had been diagnosed with an essential tremor. He had been having trouble standing for any period of time – the first time we really noticed it was at my wedding in 1987 when his legs began trembling terribly while he was standing up front, waiting to give me away.

After he was diagnosed, Mom was his primary caretaker and in the fall of 2000, they moved into an assisted living facility since they could see the writing on the wall and knew that Dad would be needing more help soon. Three months later, she was suddenly diagnosed with lung cancer and died within three weeks. Suddenly Dad was on his own.

Before Mom died, Dad was getting up every morning and driving himself to Hardee’s for a biscuit, going to the gym, and stopping by the grocery store on his way home (after looking for “deals”!) Yes, he struggled, but he was able to do this independently every day.

With half a year of Mom’s death, Dad was in a wheelchair, was living with me and my family, and was having hallucinations. (I suspect he had been having hallucinations before Mom passed away and that she didn’t want to “burden” us with that information, but I’m not sure.)

Dad’s hallucinations were all visual. He would see cats or children or nuns with golf clubs. A little man sat in his car stealing quarters in the heat of the day.

Dad had two subthalmic nuclear implants (deep brain implants) implanted during two separate surgeries. These did not do any good, and his neurologist noted that Dad was his only patient who had not seen any improvement as a result of the surgery. Next Dad was diagnosed with PSP (Progressive Supranuclear Palsy) in addition to Parkinson’s. I can’t remember exactly what led to this diagnosis, but it had something to do with his eyes. At this point, I was just starting to be able to research things on the Internet and came across something called Lewy Body Dementia. I asked Dad’s neurologist why he wasn’t considering that as a diagnosis. Again, it’s been too long for me to remember his reasoning, but I do remember that he felt that the hallucinations were due to the medications Dad was on for Parkinson’s.

After living with us for over two years, Dad went into a nursing home (excuse me, assisted care facility) near my brother.  He lived there for about two years before he passed away. After he died, we had his brain sent to CurePSP, where they did a complete autopsy and sent us the results free of charge. I wanted to know exactly what Dad had, in case it was hereditary, so that my children would have that information one day.

Dad did not have Parkinson’s, nor did he have PSP. He had Lewy Body Dementia (also called Diffuse Lewy Body Disease). Like PSP and Parkinson’s, there isn’t a whole lot that can be done, so I wasn’t upset or mad that he was never properly diagnosed. Proper diagnosis would have helped us deal with things a little more appropriately (he wouldn’t have had those two surgeries and he wouldn’t have been on some of his meds), but in the end, it is what it is. Lewy Body Dementia, by the way, is the second leading cause of dementia next to Alzheimer’s, but I bet you’ve never heard of it - most doctor’s haven’t heard of it either! Although I never address it directly in the Chop, Chop series, in my mind, Natalie’s father suffered from Lewy Body Dementia, but was misdiagnosed with Parkinson’s like my father. Misdiagnosis is very common.

During the time of caring for Dad, I found a book to be extremely helpful – especially in dealing with practical, everyday problems that arise. It is called The 36-Hour Day and I checked it out from the library. Although it is geared toward caretakers of those with Alzheimer’s, I found that this book helped me deal with his erroneous beliefs (as Tanner learned in Alone – reassure and redirect!) and how to deal with the inevitable once he had to quit driving.

I also encourage you to check out my friend Toni's page on Alzheimer's. Her mother is battling this disease and I have always been most impressed with the way Toni deals with the devastating effects of this illness with such grace and love. Toni is one of the many people God has allowed me to get to know through writing the Chop, Chop books.

If you are dealing with dementia in any way, shape or form, I am sorry. There are no easy answers, no easy fixes. I pray that God will lift you up and give you strength.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

 

 

 

 

 

Killing David . . .

Chop,Chop was never intended to have sequels (the one or two reviews I’ve received that say the novel purposefully leaves things unfinished so that readers will be required to purchase the next books in the series amuse me because it is simply not true).

After I wrote books two and three, I knew I was finished. David had his hot tub, everything was great . . . it was a perfect place to end David’s story.

But as time went on I toyed with the idea of continuing the series. My mind immediately traveled through David’s life toward the end, and the natural turn of events was that he would lose Laci.

And I just couldn’t do that to him.

But, I thought, I could have Laci lose David . . . and the idea for Gone was born. I also immediately came up with the idea of having Tanner and Laci get together. I had not, at this point, developed a real relationship between Tanner and Laci in my mind, but the more I thought about it, the more perfect it seemed. I just had to get rid of Natalie (since the implication at the end of book 3 was that the two of them were going to wind up together).

In Nicholas Sparks’ The Notebook, the main female character comes and goes between moments of being in the here and now and moments of being somewhere else. I’m not sure exactly how I came up with the idea of David developing early onset Alzheimer’s , but once I did, I remembered this aspect of The Notebook and thought that it would be neat to do that same thing through David’s eyes, thereby having the reader learn along with him what was going on.

I find it interesting that very few people ask me who David sees in the last scene of Gone – Greg or Jesus? Many Christian novelist do not capitalize He, Him, Who, etc., when talking about God, but I felt very strongly that I wanted to do so in my novels. David’s last words in Gone—“I see him”—let you know who David sees.

 

Finally, I am posting a review from Barnes and Noble that was left for Gone. Unlike Amazon (where I would be able to respond directly to the reviewer), B&N doesn’t allow me to leave a response. I have posted the following on myFacebook page, however, and am including it again here because I think it’s worth talking about.  Here is the review (as it was written) by an anonymous reviewer:

“Well i loved this book but i do have something to say........

1. This series was absolutely amazing!!!!
2. I ( again) regard l.n. cronk as one of my favorite authors
3. With that being said i do have to make a point........my question is this?? Is jesus not the healer?? Isnt it a christians job to trust Him as the Healer? I was extremely dissapointed that l.n. cronks didnt incorporate having any faith that Jesus Christ can heal him of any sickness or disease.....i was extremely sad that after he found out he had alzehiemers he just kind of accepted it. Not once did he pray for healing or acknowledge jesuss as the healer. He just kind of decided that he was going to just allow it to happen to him. Thats just my opinion. Im sorry if that offends anyone. But the bottom line is that this book is still great and l.n. is a great author!!!!!!!!!!:D”

My response: First of all, no offense taken at all!! Thanks for the review and all of the positive comments. I just wish I could respond directly to you to explain why I choose the route I did. Here is my indirect response:

 

We all know that even Christians will suffer hardships in this life and that we are all going to die. Yes, God absolutely could have saved David from this disease, but that was not God’s will in this case. Now, the QUESTION that was asked, however, was why did David not at least ASK God to cure him? Indeed, David DID just accept this fate, not ask for healing, and decide that he was going to allow it to happen. So why did David respond this way (or, more specifically, why did I choose to have David respond this way?)

A general theme throughout the books has always been that God has a specific will for David’s life, David usually doesn’t like it, argues with God about it, tries to make things go his way, pleads with God, etc., etc., etc., and – in the end – David always realizes that God knew what He was doing and that His will is the best. In this book – and in this point in David’s life – David has finally matured to the point where he wants what God wants, and he realizes that this is God’s will.

I totally believe in a God who can cure anyone of anything at any time. Nothing is impossible for my God! I also believe that He loves it when we talk to Him and come to Him with our requests and thanksgivings. In this particular case, however, David was indeed going to die – no matter how he petitioned God. He chose make his requests about other things instead.

David’s desire is to handle it in a manner that God will be pleased with. This is summed up by the following passage from “Gone” – a passage that is so important, I chose to put on the back cover of the paperback version:

“Every time God does something in my life that’s not what I want,” I began carefully, “I always fight Him on it . . . right?”

She nodded.

“But eventually I figure out that He knew what He was doing and I can see how He was in control and everything and then finally, I come around, you know?”

She nodded again.

“But it usually takes me a really long time to get to that point,” I said. “Right?”

“Right.”

I looked at her for a moment.

“Well,” I finally said, quietly, “I don’t have a really long time anymore.”

She looked back at me and didn’t say anything. Her eyes started shining with tears.

I pulled her closer and went on.

“I just want to go ahead and jump right to that place where I realize how much God loves me and where I know that everything that’s happening is going to work to good. Do you know what I mean?”

She gave me a tiny nod.

“I want to be happy,” I said, squeezing her. “I want for us to be happy.”

She gave me a small smile.

“What do you say, Laci?” I asked, smiling back. “Do you want to be happy with me?”

She gave me a bigger nod and a bigger smile and then she wrapped her arms around me and buried her face against me.

 

 

 

The Story Behind The Story

In the past, when readers have contacted me and let me know how much they appreciate Chop, Chop, I have tried to personally respond to tell them the story behind the story. Unfortunately, as the number of people who read Chop, Chop grows, this has become more and more difficult. Soooooooo - while I really love to connect on a more personal level with my readers, I feel it is more important that the story behind Chop, Chop is shared with as many people as possible. For that reason, I'm telling the story here. If you haven't yet read Chop, Chop, but intend to, please wait to read the following until after you have.

My husband has a cousin named Tammie. She and her husband, Dean, had four children. The oldest, Daniel, was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma when he was 14. It is very rare in children and always terminal. They told him he had 6-9 months to live.

Daniel decided that he wanted to spend whatever time he had left, bringing as many people to Christ as he could. I don’t know many 14 year olds who would prioritize that way! (Obviously the character of Greg was written to reflect someone who would have!) Daniel actually lived for almost two years and – together with his family – used what he was going through to glorify God’s name. Throughout the whole thing, their main concern was to bring others closer to God. After he passed away, two of his friends spoke at his funeral and hundreds of people heard the message of salvation.

Exactly five months after Daniel died, I was driving home from work and I was thinking about this. I started to wonder what it would be like for a young man to lose his best friend if both of them were strong Christians. All of a sudden, the whole story for Chop, Chop came flooding into my head. I started writing that evening (even though I was working on another piece that really needed to be finished - I couldn't NOT write!) I know this story was from God, because I was writing things that made no sense to me at the time (like why Laci and Greg were sending their hair to Locks of Love and why Greg was always making hand signals). When I wrote the end, I was amazed – I was like “Wow! That worked out really well!” That was because God put the whole thing together! Everything came to me so fast that I wrote seemingly non-stop and had the whole thing written in exactly two months.

After that, I was saddened that it was “over”. One night I prayed to God and thanked Him for giving me the story and told Him what a wonderful experience it had been and I told Him I would really appreciate it if He would make that happen again. The next morning, I woke up with the first two sequels firmly in my head and I wrote each of those in two months each, as well.

This is just a little part of what God has done and I can’t express how much He has used this experience to change my life and bring me closer to Him. I just wanted to share that with you and make sure you knew where all the credit for the stories goes!

Thank you very much for sharing some of your precious time with me. I appreciate it - and each of you - so much. Many blessings ~ Leeann